Earlier today, Samuel Montembeault was traded to the Laval Rocket. The Quebecers will spend a training period in the AHL, playing two games in Cleveland.
These two games will take place on Thursday and Saturday.
The question now was when the goalkeeper would return to the big club. Theoretically, he could spend two weeks at the school club… but it wouldn't be that long.
The theory was that we will see him again on Sundaywhen the club is in Pittsburgh. And now, after the game, Martin St. Louis has confirmed that this is indeed the plan.
He will leave Cleveland for Pittsburgh, where he will reunite with the Habs.
Martin St. Louis says Samuel Montembeault plans to return to the Canadiens on Sunday in Pittsburgh after playing a pair of games with the Laval Rocket in Cleveland. #Habs
– Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) December 17, 2025
So, in theory, Montembeault will be an option for the Habs in Sunday's game against the Penguins. However, given that he will be playing the night before and will be traveling, we probably shouldn't expect him to feature in goal for this game.
The goalkeeper on Sunday will almost certainly be the one who did not play on Saturday between Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes.
It's also worth remembering that the Habs will play one more game before Christmas when they take on the Bruins in Boston on December 23rd. It's possible that this game could be Montembeault's opportunity to return to the Canadiens' goal.
However, it should be noted that Fowler and Dobs will still be in town at this time. The club will need both goalkeepers for two games on two nights this weekend, with a trade freeze coming into effect from Saturday morning.
Only after the holidays will one guy return to Laval… unless, of course, the club wants to continue the “ménage à trois” experiment.
Extension
Speaking about his team's performance today, Martin St. Louis said he didn't think his club played poorly. The coach thought the Habs played mature game… but they were a little unlucky.
Habs coach Marty St. Louis on his team's 4-1 loss today:
“In terms of what we're talking about, consistency and maturity, I think we played mature in the last two games today. We didn't lose much to Philadelphia. We were just a little unlucky…” pic.twitter.com/IbtNqhAd3N
– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 17, 2025
